"Mad cow" threatens to hijack EU summit

The production manager at an east German factory inspects the quality of bonemeal, which has since been banned as animal feed

BERLIN, Germany -- As Germany's blanket ban on on meat-based animal feed came into effect, "mad cow disease" threatened to hijack this week's crucial European Union summit.

European Union farm ministers meet on Monday to decide drastic new measures to curb the spread of mad cow disease and stop the crisis over beef from dominating the summit in Nice, France.

The EU's food safety Commissioner David Byrne will present plans to ban all livestock feed containing animal remains and to keep older cattle out of the food chain unless tested for mad cow disease, which officials fear may be taking hold throughout Europe.

The talks are due to begin at 1300 GMT and are expected to last well into the night.

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Germany's blanket ban on meat-based animal feed has come into effect as authorities try to calm fears over beef safety after the discovery of "mad cow disease" in the country.

Germany also starts widescale testing of cattle for the brain wasting bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) this week, with regional governments drafting in extra laboratories to help with the process.

Moving quickly to quell consumer concern, the German government last week fast-tracked legislation to ban the production, import and export of meat-based feeds for livestock, blamed for spreading the disease.

Beef sales in the country have dropped by up to 50 percent since the first two cases of BSE in German-born cattle were discovered over a week ago.

VIDEO CNN's Chris Burns reports on the steps Germany is taking after cows are found to be infected Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

Scientists suspect eating tainted meat can lead to the deadly human form, new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, which has killed 85 people in Britain and two in France since 1996.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said that the whole process of how meat was produced and sold had to change if producers were to win back the trust of consumers.

"In meat production everyone has to be able to trace where the product comes from. The marketing chain has to be made transparent," Schroeder told the news magazine Der Spiegel in an article released ahead of publication on Monday.

Schroeder said he would not stop eating "Currywurst," a beef sausage in curry sauce which is a Berlin delicacy. "But in future I want to know where it comes from."

Agriculture Minister Karlheinz Funke said he would call for new measures at EU level to help fight the crisis.

"We need a new agriculture policy with new goals and different emphasis. This must reflect that food safety has become a major factor in EU policy," Funke said in a statement.

Funke, who has faced calls to resign over his handling of the mad cow crisis in Germany, said he would reorganise his ministry to include a special consumer protection section.

The powerful regions last week urged the government to push for a new EU-wide ban on British beef, saying it represented the biggest threat in the mad cow scare sweeping Europe.

Germany was instrumental in imposing the first EU ban on British beef which lasted from 1996 to August 1999, and only agreed to remove a continuing national ban in March this year under the threat of legal action from the EU.

The proposed ban on meat-based animal feed received a setback on Thursday when EU veterinary chiefs were unable to reach a decision and passed the issue to a farm ministers' meeting to be held on Monday.

EU commissioner for food safety David Byrne said he expected a more positive outcome at this meeting.

"I expect that we will achieve consensus on Monday," Byrne told a news conference in Madrid.

"There may be some amendments here or there, but as long as the proposal that has been announced remains substantially intact, I will be happy."

Byrne proposes that a ban should last six months initially, starting from January 1.

Many member states with no confirmed cases of mad cow disease disagree with Byrne's proposal, arguing that they will be burdened with unfair costs.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Germany targets cattle feed amid BSE crisis
December 1, 2000
Germany to make BSE testing mandatory
November 30, 2000
EU proposes tougher feed controls
November 29, 2000
EU warning over BSE
November 27, 2000

Germany Ministry of Agriculture
European Union
World Health Organisation: Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE)

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